PhD Student, University of Miami

How Shinmoedake erupted

On Friday last week, a lava dome about 50 meters in diameter was confirmed in the Shinmoedake crater. Shinmoedake is one of more than 20 volcanic peaks in the Kirishima mountain range. The magma is viscid, and is likened to the one at Fugendake peak in the Unzen mountain range in Nagasaki Prefecture, whose destructive effect of the pyroclastic eruption has been noted and studied in all textbooks.

Today’s terrestrial TV broadcast mentioned that rocks as large as a car have been spotted being ejected from the crater’s blasts.

Below are a few links to some most spectacular Youtube video footages of the eruptions: